Pokémon Go slayed virtual reality hype in favour of augmented reality

Augmented reality is all the new rage in the town, and everyone wants it. There has been a staggering surge in how Pokémon GO has captured the public imagination with this package. Niantic tried the same formula with its earlier offering, Ingress where players had to go around looking for treasures and capturing portals to create triangles on the maps to make control fields. Even though the game had a dedicated following and a passionate community driving it, the concept was new.

Niantic made a package that has reintroduced the adventure everyone wanted to go on since childhood, the real world. There was no need for the company to conceptualize a new idea and establish it with the users. Instead, they used an established idea, rather a fantasy of children. This was the first implementation of the technology in a long time which brought AR back on the discussion table after all the VR hype. AR was limited to the brief moments of “how cool that concept looks” keeping in mind how Google Glass was pegged by Google. With time, AR grew to “How cool the technology and experience is” with the execution of the concept by Microsoft with Hololens.

Pokémon GO made me give another chance to AR as a technology after all the VR things going around. After using the implementation of both the technologies on my mobile device, I came to the conclusion that AR is here and for the better. There are a lot of reasons for me to call out AR better, and the main thing is affordability. It is AFFORDABLE; you don’t need to break your bank for a good AR experience.

The technology works on existing hardware in addition to previous generation smartphones. You don’t need to spend $600 to $800 to buy an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive in addition to a VR compatible system. Many companies like Asus and Alienware have also come out with VR capable devices that require the user to carry the system in a backpack while costing an easy $1,000 just to experience virtual reality. In the smartphone market, experiencing VR doesn’t sound like an expensive affair but you need to invest in a decent virtual reality headsets which start from Rs 2,500, which again are not impressive. Another factor is the lack of quality of the experience unless your smartphone is equipped with a 2K display. Even with a 2K display, which increases the price of your smartphone,  there is no guarantee  of a complete immersive VR experience.

Another reason for me to call AR better is the involvement with the real world. AR in definition means adding additional information over the real world to help the users gain contextual information. This information enhances the overall view and makes interacting with computers and systems more natural. Pokémon GO has been a great testament to the fact that the game has the right balance between AR and normal app experience.

As reported by Inverse.com , this new implementation of AR is making gaming social and forcing people to go out and be friends. The idea of making gaming social is the best take one could think of. Pokémon GO hit the nail on point about changing the entire concept of gaming and AR. It is breaking the Virtual isolation that is associated with gaming and making it cool to go out.